Captain Passford looked over his audience with no little interest, and perhaps with considerable anxiety; for he felt that the success of his enterprise must depend, in a great measure, upon the fidelity and skill of the individual members of the ship's company.
"My remarks are addressed to every person in the ship's company, from Captain Breaker to the stewards and coal-passers; and any one has a perfect right to decline to go with me, without prejudice to his present or future interests," continued the owner.
More earnestly than before the officers and men gazed at each other; and it looked as though not one of them dared to move a single inch, lest a step should be interpreted as an impeachment of his fidelity to one who had been a Christian and a trusty friend in all his relations with him.
"I know that some of you have families, mothers, brothers, and sisters on shore; and I assure you that I shall not regard it as a disgrace or a stigma upon any man who does his duty as he understands it, without regard to me or mine," the owner proceeded.
Still not a man moved, and all seemed to be more averse than before to change their positions a particle; and possibly any one who was tempted to do so expected to be hooted by his shipmates, if he took the treacherous step.
"I sincerely hope that every man of you will be guided by his own sense of duty, without regard to what others may think of his action. I will not allow any man to suffer from any reproach or indignity on account of what he does in this matter, if by any means I can prevent it," continued Captain Passford, looking over his audience again, to discover, if he could, any evidence of faltering on the part of a single one.
Still officers and men were as immovable as a group of statuary; and not a face betrayed an expression indicating a desire to leave the vessel, or to falter in what all regarded as the allegiance they owed to the owner and his family.
"We will all go with you to the end of the world, or the end of the war!" shouted the old sheet-anchor man, who was the spokesman of the crew when they had any thing to say. "If any man offers to leave"—
"He shall go with my best wishes," interposed Captain Passford. "None of that, Boxie; you have heard what I said, and I mean every word of it. There shall be no persuasion or intimidation."
"Beg pardon, Captain Passford; but there isn't a man here that would go to the mainmast if he knew that the forecastle would drop out from under him, and let him down into Davy Jones's locker the next minute if he staid here," responded Boxie, with a complaisant grin on his face, as if he was entirely conscious that he knew what he was talking about.
"Every man must act on his own free will," added the owner.
"That's just what we are all doing, your honor; and every one of us would rather go than have his wages doubled. If any dumper here has a free will to go to the mainmast, he'd better put his head in soak, and"—
"Avast heaving, Boxie!" interposed the owner,smiling in spite of himself at the earnestness of the old sailor.
"I hain't got a word more to say, your honor; only"—
"Only nothing, Boxie! I see that not one of you is inclined to leave the vessel, and I appreciate in the highest degree this devotion on your part to me and my family. I have some writing to do now; and, while I am engaged upon it, Mr. Watts shall take the name and residence of every man on board. I shall give this list to my wife, and charge her to see that those dependent upon you need nothing in your absence. She will visit the friends of every one of you, if she has to go five hundred miles to do so. I have nothing more to say at present."
The men cheered lustily for the owner, and then separated, as the captain went aft to draw up his papers to send on shore by Mrs. Passford. He was followed by Captain Breaker, while little groups formed in various parts of the deck to discuss the situation.
"I intended to have some talk with you, Breaker, before I said any thing to the ship's company; but, you know, it is very seldom that I ever say anything directly to them," said Captain Passford, as the commander came up with him.
"This was an extraordinary occasion; and I am very glad that you did the business directly, instead of committing it to me," replied Captain Breaker; "and I have not the slightest objection to make. But I have a word to say in regard to myself personally. As you are aware, I was formerly an officer of the navy, with the rank of lieutenant. I wish to apply to the department to be restored to my former rank, or to any rank which will enable me to serve my country the most acceptably. I hope my purpose will not interfere with your enterprise."
"Not at all, I think, except in the matter of some delay. I shall tender the Bellevite as a free gift to the Government in a letter I shall send on shore by my wife," replied Captain Passford. "But I shall offer to do this only on my return from a trip I feel obliged to make in her. I shall also offer my own services in any capacity in which I can be useful; though, as I am not a naval officer like yourself, I cannot expect a prominent position."
"Your ability fits you for almost any position;and, after a little study of merely routine matters, you will be competent for almost any command," added Captain Breaker.
"I do not expect that, and I am willing to do my duty in a humble position," said the owner. "All that I am and all that I have shall be for my country's use."
"I knew very well where we should find you if the troubles ended in a war."
"My present enterprise will be rather irregular, as I have already said; but the delay it would cause alone prevents me from giving the vessel to the Government at once."
"As a man-of-war, the Bellevite could not be used for the purpose you have in mind. The plan you have chosen is the only practicable one."
"Very well, Breaker. You had better pass the word through the ship's company that the Bellevite will sail in an hour or two,—as soon as I can finish my business; and if officer or seaman wishes to leave the vessel, let him do so," added the owner, as he moved towards the companionway.
"Not one of them will leave her under anycircumstances," replied the commander, as he went forward.
The word was passed, as suggested by the owner, and the result was to set the greater part of the officers and men to writing letters for their friends, to be sent on shore by the tug; but the captain warned them not to say a word in regard to the destination of the steamer.
In another hour Captain Passford had completed his letters and papers, including letters to the Secretary of the Navy, a power of attorney to his wife which placed his entire fortune at her command, and other documents which the hurried movements of the writer rendered necessary.
The owner and his son bade adieu to the wife and mother in the cabin; and it is not necessary to penetrate the sacred privacy of such an occasion, for it was a tender, sad, and trying ordeal to all of them.
All the letters were gathered together and committed to the care of the lady as she went over the side to leave the floating home in which she had lived for several months, for the family did not often desert their palatial cabin for the poorer accommodations of a hotel on shore.
The pilot departed in the tug, and he was no wiser than when he came on board in regard to the intentions of the owner of the steam-yacht. There was an abundant supply of coal and provisions on board, for the vessel was hardly three days from Bermuda when she came up with Sandy Hook; and the commander gave the order to weigh anchor as soon as the tug cast off her fasts.
"I suppose we are bound somewhere, Captain Passford," said Captain Breaker, as soon as the vessel was fully under way. "But you have not yet indicated to me our destination."
"Bermuda. The fact is that I have been so absorbed in the tremendous news that came to us with the pilot, that I have not yet come to my bearings," replied the owner with a smile. "My first duty now will be to discuss our future movements with you; and when you have given out the course, we will attend to that matter."
Captain Breaker called Mr. Joel Dashington, the first officer, to him, and gave him the course of the ship, as indicated by the owner. He was six feet and one inch in height, and as thin as a rail; but he was a very wiry man, and it was said that he could stand more hunger, thirst, exposure,and hardship than any other living man. He was a gentleman in his manners, and had formerly been in command of a ship in the employ of Captain Passford. He was not quite fifty years old, and he had seen service in all parts of the world, and in his younger days had been a master's mate in the navy.
The second officer was superintending the crew as they put things to rights for the voyage. His person was in striking contrast with his superior officer; for he weighed over two hundred pounds, and looked as though he were better fitted for the occupancy of an alderman's chair than for a position on the deck of a sea-going vessel. He was under forty years of age, but he had also been in command of a bark in the employ of his present owner.
"Of course we cannot undertake the difficult enterprise before us, Breaker, without an armament of some sort," said Captain Passford, as they halted at the companionway.
"I should say not, and I was wondering how you intended to manage in this matter," replied the commander.
"I will tell you, for our first mission rendersit necessary to give some further orders before we go below," continued the owner. "We have not a day or an hour to waste."
"The sooner we get at the main object of the expedition, the better will be our chances of success."
"You remember that English brig which was wrecked on Mills Breaker, while we were at Hamilton?"
"Very well indeed; and she was said to be loaded with a cargo of improved guns, with the ammunition for them, which some enterprising Britisher had brought over on speculation, for the use of the Confederate army and navy,—if they ever have any navy," added Captain Breaker.
"That is precisely the cargo to which I allude. The brig had a hole in her bottom, but only a part of her was under water. The officers of the vessel were confident that the entire cargo would be saved, with not much of it in a damaged condition," added the owner.
"There has been no violent storm since we left St. George, hardly three days ago," said the commander.
"I wish to obtain as much of this cargo as will be necessary to arm the Bellevite properly for the expedition; and I have a double object in obtaining it, even if I have to throw half of it into the Atlantic Ocean."
"The fact that we need the guns and ammunition is reason enough for trying to obtain the cargo."
"But I have the additional inducement of keeping it out of the hands of the enemy, so that the guns shall be turned against the foes of the Union instead of its friends. We must make a quick passage, so that, if we lose this opportunity, it will not be our fault."
"I understand. Pass the word for Mr. Vapoor," added the commander to a quartermaster who was taking in the ensign at the peak.
Mr. Vapoor was the chief engineer; though he was the youngest officer on board, and really looked younger than Christy Passford.
Paul Vapoor was a genius, and that accounted for his position as chief engineer at the age of twenty-two. He was born a machinist, and his taste in that direction had made him a very hard student. His days and a large portion of his nights, while in his teens, had been spent in studying physics, chemistry, and, in fact, all the sciences which had any bearing upon the life-work which nature rather than choice had given him to do.
His father had been in easy circumstances formerly, so that there had been nothing to interfere with his studies before he was of age. Up to this period, he had spent much of his time in a large machine-shop, working for nothing as though his daily bread depended upon his exertions; and he was better qualified to run anengine than most men who had served for years at the business, for he was a natural scientist.
There was scarcely a part of an engine at which he had not worked with his own hands as a volunteer, and he was as skilful with his hands as he was deep with his head. Paul's father was an intimate friend of Captain Passford; and when a sudden reverse of fortune swept away all the former had, the latter gave the prodigy a place as assistant engineer on board of his steam-yacht, from which, at the death of the former incumbent of the position, he had been promoted to the head of the department. While his talent and ability were of the highest order, of course his rapid promotion was due to the favor of the owner of the Bellevite.
Captain Breaker, who had rather reluctantly assented to the placing in charge of the engineer department a young man of only twenty-one, had no occasion to regret that he had yielded his opinion to that of his owner. Paul Vapoor had been found equal to all the requirements of the situation, for the judgment of the young chief was almost as marvellous as his genius.
Paul was gentle in his manners, and possessed avery lovable disposition; in fact, he was almost a woman in all the tender susceptibilities of his nature; and those who knew him best knew not which to admire most, his genius or his magnetic character. Mr. Leon Bolter, the first assistant engineer, was thirty-six years old; and Mr. Fred Faggs, the second, was twenty-six. But there was neither envy, jealousy, nor other ill-feeling in the soul of either in respect to his superior; and they recognized the God-given genius of the chief more fully than others could, for their education enabled them to understand it better.
Paul Vapoor and Christy Passford were fast friends almost from the first time they met; and they had been students together in the same institution, though they were widely apart in their studies. They were cronies in the strongest sense of the word, and the chief engineer would have given up his very life for the son of his present employer. The owner favored this intimacy, for he felt that he could not find in all the world a better moral and intellectual model for his son.
Mr. Vapoor, as he was always called when on duty, even by the members of the owner's familyin spite of the fact that he seemed to be only a boy, appeared on the quarter-deck of the steamer in answer to the summons of the commander. He was neatly dressed in a suit of blue, with brass buttons, though some of the oil and grime of the engine defaced his uniform. He bowed, and touched his cap to the commander, in the most respectful manner as he presented himself before him.
"For reasons which you will understand better, Mr. Vapoor, at a later period, Captain Passford is in a great hurry to reach Bermuda, where we are bound, at the earliest possible moment," the captain began. "Our ordinary rate of speed is fourteen knots when we don't hurry her."
"That is what I make her do when not otherwise instructed," replied the chief engineer.
"You assisted as a volunteer in building the engine of the Bellevite, and you were in the engine-room during the whole of the trial trip, three years ago," continued Captain Breaker with a smile on his face; and a smile seemed to be a necessity in the presence of the young man.
"That is all very true, captain; and I was more interested in this engine than I have ever been inany other, and it has fully realized my strongest hopes."
"What speed did you get out of her on the trial trip?"
"Eighteen knots; but her machinery was new then. The order of Captain Passford included the requirement that the engine of the vessel should give her the greatest speed ever produced in a sea-going steamer, and the Bellevite was built strong enough to bear such an engine. I believe the company that built it fully met the requirement."
"What do you believe to be her best speed, Mr. Vapoor?"
"I have never had the opportunity to test it, but I believe that she can make more than twenty knots, possibly twenty-two. You remember that Captain Passford was in a desperate hurry to get from Messina to Marseilles a year ago this month, and the Bellevite logged twenty knots during nearly the whole of the trip," replied the engineer, with a gentle smile of triumph on his handsome face, for he looked upon the feat of the engine as he would upon a noble deed of his father.
"You made her shake on that trip, Mr. Vapoor."
"Not very much, sir. All the owner's family, including Miss Florry, were on board then, and, if any thing had happened, I should have charged myself with murder. I do not know what the Bellevite could do if the occasion warranted me in taking any risk."
"I do not wish you to be reckless on the present emergency; but it is of the utmost importance to save every hour we can, and the success or failure of the expedition may depend upon a single hour. I will say no more, though an accident to the engine would be a disaster to the enterprise. I leave the matter with you, Mr. Vapoor," added the commander, as he moved off.
"I understand you perfectly, Captain Breaker, and there shall be no failure in the engine department to meet your wishes," replied the chief, as he touched his cap and retired to the engine-room.
"I am waiting for you, Breaker," said Captain Passford, who was standing near the companionway with Christy.
"Excuse me for a few minutes more, for there seems to be a strong breeze coming up from the north-east, and I want to take a lookat the situation," replied the commander, and he hastened forward.
It had been bright sunshine when the pilot came on board: but suddenly the wind had veered to an ugly quarter, and had just begun to pipe up into something like half a gale. Captain Breaker went to the pilot-house, looked at the barometer, and then directed Mr. Dashington to crowd on all sail, for he intendedtodrive the vessel to her utmost capacity.
The Bellevite was rigged as a barkantine; that is, she was square-rigged on her foremast, like a ship, while her main and mizzen masts carried only fore-and-aft sails, including gaff-topsails. The shrill pipe of the boatswain immediately sounded through the vessel, and twenty-four able seamen dashed to their stations. In a few minutes, every rag of canvas which the steamer could carry was set. But the commander did not wait for this to be done, but hastened to join the owner.
"I suppose you don't want me, sir," said Christy, as his father led the way into the cabin.
"On the contrary, I do want you, Christy," replied Captain Passford, as he halted, and thecommander passed him on his way to the cabin. "I wish you to understand as well as I do myself what we are going to do."
"I shall be very glad to know more about it," added Christy, pleased with the confidence his father reposed in him in connection with the serious undertaking before him.
"In the work I have to do, you stand nearer to me than any other person on board," continued Captain Passford. "I know what you are, and you are older than your sixteen years make you. It was at your age that Charles XII. took command of the armies of Sweden, and he was more than a figure-head in his forces."
"Sometimes I feel older than I am," suggested the boy.
"I believe in keeping a boy young as long as possible, and I have never hurried you by putting you in an important place, though at one time I thought of having a third officer, and assigning you to the position, for the practice it would give you in real life; but I concluded that you had better not be driven forward."
"I think I know something about handling a steamer, father."
"I know you do; though I have never told you so, for I did not care to have you think too much of yourself. Now, in common with all the rest of us, you are hurled into the presence of mighty events; and in a single day from a boy you must become a man. You are my nearest representative on board; and if any thing should happen to me, in the midst of the perils of this expedition, a responsibility would fall upon you which you cannot understand now. I wish to prepare you for it," said Captain Passford, as he went down into the cabin.
The commander was already seated at the table, waiting for the owner; and Captain Passford and Christy took places near him. The cabin was as elegant and luxurious as money and taste could make it. In the large state-room of the owner there was every thing to make a sea-voyage comfortable and pleasant to one who had a liking for the ocean.
Leading from the main cabin were the state-rooms of Florence and Christy. One of the four others was occupied by Dr. Linscott, the surgeon of the ship, who had had abundant experience in his profession, who had been an army surgeonin the Mexican war, though his health did not permit him to practise on shore.
Another was occupied by the chief steward, who was a person of no little consequence on board; while the others were appropriated to guests when there were any, as was often the case when the Bellevite made short voyages.
The trio at the table began the discussion of the subject before them without delay; but it is not necessary to enter into its details, since, whatever plans were made, they must still be subject to whatever contingencies were presented when the time for action came.
Forward of the main cabin was what is called in naval parlance the ward-room, and it was called by this name on board of the Bellevite. In this apartment the officers next in rank below the commander took their meals; and from it opened the state-rooms of the first and second officers on the starboard-side, with one for the chief engineer on the port-side, and another for his two assistants next abaft it.
The commander was an old friend of the owner, and messed with him in the main cabin, though his state-room was a large apartmentbetween the cabin and the ward-room; the space on the opposite side of the ship being used for the pantries and the bath-room.
Before the conference in the cabin had proceeded far, the motion of the steamer, and the creaking of the timbers within her, indicated that Mr. Vapoor was doing all that could be required of him in the matter of speed, though the pressure of canvas steadied the vessel in the heavy sea which the increasing breeze had suddenly produced. Before night, the wind was blowing a full gale, and some reduction of sail became necessary.
The Bellevite had the wind fair, and the most that was possible was made of this accessory to her speed. At one time she actually logged the twenty-two knots which the chief engineer had suggested as her limit, and inside of two days she reached her destination. Christy had suddenly become the active agent of his father, and he was the first to be sent on shore to obtain information in regard to the guns and ammunition, for it was thought that he would excite less suspicion than any other on board.
Christy procured the desired information on shore; and being but a boy, he obtained no credit for the head he carried on his shoulders, so that no attention was given to him when he made his investigation. At the proper time Captain Passford appeared; but, as the guns and other war material were intended for the other side in the conflict, he was obliged to resort to a little strategy to obtain them.
But they were obtained, and the Bellevite was as fully armed and prepared for an emergency as though she had been in the employ of the Government, as it was intended that she should be when her present mission was accomplished. During her stay at St. George, such changes as were necessary to adapt the vessel to her enterprise—such as the fitting up of a magazine—were completed, and the steamer sailed.
After a quick passage, the Bellevite arrived at New Providence, Nassau, where she put in to obtain some needed supplies, as it was directly on her course. Already there was not a little activity at the principal foreign ports nearest to the Southern States, created by the hurried operations of speculators anxious to profit by the war that was to come; and later these harbors were the refuge of the blockade-runners.
The arrival of the Bellevite at New Providence created not a little excitement among the Confederate sympathizers who had hastened there to take advantage of the maritime situation, and to procure vessels for the use of the South in the struggle. The steamer was painted black, and, as she had been built after plans suggested by her owner, she was peculiar in her construction to some extent, and her appearance baffled the curiosity of the active Confederate patriots and speculators alike; for both classes were represented there, though not yet in large numbers.
Captain Passford had instructed the commander to conceal all the facts in regard to her, and no flag or any thing else which could betray her nationality or character was allowed to be seen.The business of obtaining the needed stores required many of the officers and men to go on shore, but all of them were instructed to answer no questions. No one was allowed to come on board.
"Good-morning, my friend," said a young man to Christy, as he landed on the day after the arrival.
"Good-morning," replied the owner's son, civilly enough, as he looked over the person addressing him, who appeared to be a young man not more than eighteen years old.
"What steamer is that?" continued the stranger, pointing to the steam-yacht.
Christy looked at his interlocutor, who was a pleasant-looking young man, though there was something which did not appear to be quite natural in his expression; and he suspected that he had been placed at the landing to interrogate him or some other person from the steamer, in regard to her character and nationality. Possibly he derived this idea from the fact that he had himself been employed on a similar duty at St. George.
"Do you mean that schooner?" asked Christycarelessly, as he pointed at a vessel much nearer the shore than the Bellevite.
"No, not at all," replied the stranger. "I mean that steamer, off to the north-east," replied the young man, pointing out into the bay.
"North-east?" added the owner's son. "That is this way;" and he turned about, and directed his finger towards the interior of the island. "That would put the craft you mean on the shore, wouldn't it?"
"Not a bit of it! I don't mean that way. Don't you know the points of the compass?"
"I learned them when I was young, but I forget them now."
"Pray how old are you, my friend?" asked the stranger, who thought his companion was stupid enough to answer any question he might put to him.
"I was forty-two yesterday; and in a year from yesterday, I shall be forty-three, if I don't die of old age before that time," replied Christy, looking the other full in the face, and with as serious an expression as he could command.
"Forty-two! You are chaffing me. Didn't you come from that steamer over there?"demanded the young man, pointing at the Bellevite again.
"No, sir. I came from China, from a place they call Shensibangerwhang. Were you ever there?"
"I never was there, and I question if you were ever there."
"Do you mean to question my veracity?" demanded Christy, knitting his brow.
"Oh, no, not at all!"
"Very well; and when you go to Shensibangerwhang, I shall be glad to see you; and then I will endeavor to answer all the questions you desire to ask."
"I thought you came from that steamer over there."
"Thought made a world, but it wasn't your thought that did it."
"Of course you know the name of that steamer."
"Oh, now I think of her name! That is the Chicherwitherwing, and she belongs to the Chinese navy. She is sent out on a voyage of discovery to find the north pole, which she expects to reach here in the West Indies. When she finds it, Iwill let you know by mail, if you will give me your address," rattled Christy with abundant self-possession.
"No, no, now! You are chaffing me."
"Do you know, brother mortal of mine, that I suspect you are a Yankee; for they say they live on baked beans, and earn the money to buy the pork for them by asking questions."
"I am not a Yankee; I am a long way from that."
"Then perhaps you sympathize with the meridonial section of the nation on the other side of the Gulf Stream."
"Which section?" asked the stranger, looking a little puzzled.
"The meridonial section."
"Which is that? I don't know which meridian you mean."
"I mean no meridian. Perhaps the word is a little irregular; I studied French when I was in the Bangerwhangerlang College in China, and I am sometimes apt to get that language mixed up with some other. Let me see, we were speaking just now, were we not?"
"I was."
"Sometimes I can't speak any English, and I had forgotten about it. If you prefer to carry on this conversation in Hebrew or Hindostanee, I shall not object," added Christy gravely.
"I think I can do better with English."
"Have your own way about it; but 'meridonial' in French means 'southern,' if you will excuse me for making the suggestion."
"Then I am meridonial," replied the stranger, and he seemed to make the admission under the influence of a sudden impulse.
"Your hand on that!" promptly added Christy, extending his own.
"All right!" exclaimed the other. "My name is Percy Pierson. What is yours?"
"Percy Pierson!" exclaimed Christy, starting back with astonishment, as though his companion had fired a pistol in his face.
"What is the matter now?" demanded Percy Pierson, surprised at the demonstration of the other.
"What did you say your name was? Did I understand you aright?"
"I said my name was Percy Pierson. Is there any thing surprising about that?" asked Percy, puzzled at the demeanor of Christy.
"See here, my jolly high-flyer, who told you my name?" demanded the son of the owner of the Bellevite, with a certain amount of indignation in his manner.
"You did not, to be sure, though I asked you what it was."
"What sort of a game are you trying to play off on me? I am an innocent young fellow of sixteen, and I don't like to have others playing tricks on me. Who told you my name, if you please?"
"No one told me your name; and I don't know yet what it is, though I have asked it of you."
"Oh, get away with you! You are playing off something on me which I don't understand, and I think I had better bid you good-morning," added Christy, as he started to move off.
"Then you won't tell me your name. Stay a minute."
"You know my name as well as I do, and you are up to some trick with me," protested Christy, halting.
"'Pon my honor as a Southern gentleman, I don't know your name."
"If you are a Southern gentleman, I must believe you, for I did not come from as far north as I might have come. My name is Percy Pierson," added Christy seriously; for he felt that this was actually war, and that the strategy that does not always or often speak the truth was justifiable.
"Percy Pierson!" exclaimed the real owner of the name. "Didn't I just tell you that was my name?"
"Undoubtedly you did, and that is the reason why I thought you were making game of me."
"But how can that be when my name is Percy Pierson?"
"Give it up; but I suggest that in London, where I came from, there are acres of King Streets, almost as many Queens; and, though you may not be aware of the fact, there are seven thousand two hundred and twenty-seven native and foreign born citizens of the name of John Smith. Possibly you and I are the only two Percy Piersons in the country, or in the world."
"Now you say you are from London, and a little while ago you said you were from farther north than I am. Which is it?"
"Isn't London farther north than any Southern State?"
"Enough of this," continued Percy impatiently.
"Quite enough of it," assented Christy.
"Will you tell me what steamer that is, where she is bound, and what she is here for?"
"My dear Mr. Pierson, it would take me forty-eight hours to tell you all that," replied the representative of the Bellevite, taking out his watch. "If you will meet me here to-morrow night at sundown, I will make a beginning of the yarn, and I think I can finish it in two days. But really you must excuse me now; for I have to dine with the Chinese admiral at noon, and I must go at once."
"I can put the owner of that craft in the way of making a fortune for himself, if he is willing to part with her," added Percy, as his companion began to move off.
"That is just what the owner of that steamer wants to do: he desires to part with her, and he is determined to get rid of her. I have the means of knowing that he will let her go just as soon as he can possibly get rid of her."
"Then he is the man my father wants to see;that is, if the vessel is what she appears to be, for no one is allowed to go on board of her."
"I am sorry to tear myself away from you, but positively I must go now; for the Chinese admiral will get very impatient if I am not on time, and I have some important business with him before dinner," said Christy, as he increased his pace and got away from Mr. Percy Pierson, though he was afraid he would follow him.
But he did not; instead of doing so, he began to talk with a boatman who had some kind of a craft at the landing. Christy was not in so much of a hurry as he had appeared to be, and he waited in the vicinity till he saw his Southern friend embark in a boat which headed for the Bellevite. He concluded that his communicative friend meant to go on board of her, thinking the vessel was for sale.
The boat in which Christy had come on shore carried off to the steamer the last load of supplies, and she sailed in the middle of the afternoon. Captain Passford and Christy were standing on the quarter deck together; and, as the latter had not had time to tell his father his adventure before, he was now relating it.
The captain was amused with the story, and told his son that he had been approached by a gentleman who said his name was Pierson, and he was probably the father of the enterprising young man who had been so zealous to assist in the purchase of a suitable vessel for the service of the Confederates.
"Let me alone! Take you hands off of me!" shouted a voice that sounded rather familiar to Christy, as he and his father were still talkingon the deck. "Let me alone! I am a Southern gentleman!"
"I know you are," replied Mr. Dashington, as he appeared on deck, coming up from the companionway that led to the cabin and ward-room, holding by the collar a young man who was struggling to escape from his strong grasp. "Don't make a fuss, my hearty: I want to introduce you to the captain."
"What have you got there, Mr. Dashington?" asked Captain Breaker, who was standing near the owner.
"I have got a young cub who says he is a Southern gentleman; and I suppose he is," replied the first officer. "But he is a stowaway, and was hid away under my berth in the ward-room.—Here you are, my jolly frisker: and that gentleman is the captain of the steamer."
As he spoke, the officer set his victim down rather heavily on the deck, and he sprawled out at full length on the planks. But he was sputtering with rage at the treatment he had received; and he sprang to his feet, rushing towards Mr. Dashington as though he intended to annihilate him. But, before he reached hisintended victim, he stopped short, and eyed the tall and wiry first officer from head to foot.
He concluded not to execute his purpose upon him, for he could hardly have reached his chin if he resorted to violence. But he turned his back to the captain, so that the owner and his son did not get a look at his face. Captain Breaker walked up to him and began to question him.
"If you are a Southern gentleman, as I heard you say you were, don't you think it is a little irregular to be hid in the ward-room of this vessel?" was the first question the commander asked.
"I am what I said I was, and I am proud to say it; and I don't allow any man to put his hands on me," blustered the prisoner.
"But I think you did allow Mr. Dashington to put his hands on you," replied the captain.
"Of course I did not know that he was a Southern gentleman when I snaked him out from under the berth," added the first officer.
"I accept your apology," said the prisoner, coming down from his high horse with sudden energy; possibly because he felt that he had a mission on board of the steamer.
All present laughed heartily at the apology of the giant mate, and Christy changed his position so that he could see the front of the stowaway.
"Why, that is the gentleman I met on shore,—Mr. Percy Pierson!" exclaimed the owner's son, as soon as he saw the face of his late companion at the landing.
"I am glad to see you again, Mr. Percy Pierson," said the original of that name, as he extended his hand to Christy.
"I did not expect to meet you again so soon, and under such circumstances," replied he, taking the offered hand; for his father had proclaimed his own principle on board, that, though the war was not to be conducted on peace principles, it was to be carried on in an enlightened, and even gentlemanly manner, so far as he was concerned.
"I am right glad to see you, Mr. Percy Pierson, for I think you can assist me in the object I have in view," said the first officer's victim, looking now as though he was entirely satisfied with himself.
"What do you mean by calling each other by the same name?" inquired Captain Breaker, somewhat astonished at this phase of the conversation.
"That is the most astonishing thing in the world, that my friend here should have the same name I have; and he even thought I was playing a game upon him when I told him what my name was," replied Percy, laughing, and apparently somewhat inflated to find a friend on board.
"Precisely so," interposed Captain Passford, before the commander had time to say any thing more about the name. "But, as you both have the same name, it will be necessary to distinguish you in some manner, or it may make confusion while you remain on board."
"I see the point, sir, though I do not expect to remain on board for any great length of time; or possibly you may not," answered Percy.
"Then, I suggest that you be called simply Percy, for that is a noble name; and the other young man shall be addressed as Pierson. By doing this we shall not sacrifice either of you," continued the owner, who did not understand what his son had been doing.
"I have not the slightest objection. My friend Pierson gave me some information in regard to this steamer which made me very desirous to get on board of her. That must explain why I wasfound here under circumstances somewhat irregular, though a true gentleman can sacrifice himself to the needs of his suffering country."
"To what country do you allude, Mr. Percy?" asked Captain Passford.
"Toourcountry," replied Percy with strong and significant emphasis, as though he were sure that this would cause him to be fully understood.
"Exactly so," added the owner.
"But I see that you are sailing away from Nassau as fast as you can, and I think I had better explain my business as soon as possible," continued Percy, who seemed to be as confident as though he had already accomplished his purpose as hinted at in his conversation with Christy.
"I shall have to ask you to excuse me for a few minutes, for I have a little business with the captain of the steamer and this young man," said Captain Passford. "The tall gentleman who so gracefully apologized for his seeming rudeness to you will entertain you while I am absent."
The owner presented the tall first officer by name to his late victim, and at the same time gave him a look which Mr. Dashington understood to the effect that he was to keep the young manwhere he was. With a signal to his son and to the captain, he went below.
"I do not understand this masquerade, Christy," said he, as he seated himself at the cabin table. "What have you been telling this young fellow?"
Christy had only informed his father that he had been approached by Percy, and that he had, as well as he could, evaded his questions, and he had fooled the young man. He then gave the substance of the conversation at the landing, which amused both the owner and the commander very much; though he could not recall the Chinese names, invented on the spot, which he had used.
"All right, Christy. This young man is evidently the son of the gentleman by the name of Pierson who approached me for the purpose of purchasing the Bellevite. I went so far as to tell him that the vessel was for service in Southern waters. At any rate, he inferred that she was intended for the navy of the Confederate States, and I did not think it necessary to undeceive him. With this belief, he sought no further to buy the vessel, and I had no difficulty in shaking him off. It seems that the same mission absorbs the attentionof the son, and that he has come on board to purchase the steamer."
illustration of quoted scene"Let Me alone, I am a Southern Gentleman" (Page 81)
"I told him that you wanted to get rid of her, and that you would do so soon, by which, of course, I meant that she was to go into the service of the Government," added Christy.
"I should not have taken this young man on board; but, as he is here, he may be of use to us. But it is necessary to conceal from him the real character of the Bellevite, and we will keep up the farce as long as we please. So far as he is concerned, Christy, you may be my nephew instead of my son."
Captain Passford led the way back to the deck, where they found the first officer evidently on the best of terms with his prisoner. But Mr. Dashington had been as discreet as a man could be, and Percy had not obtained a particle of information from him.
"Now, Mr. Percy, I am at your service," said the owner, when he reached the deck. "I think you said you had some business with me."
"I have not the pleasure of knowing who or what you are, sir; and Mr. Dashington and myfriend Mr. Pierson are all I know on board by name," added Percy.
"Then you must be made better acquainted before any thing can be done," replied the owner, pointing to the captain of the steamer. "Mr. Percy, this is Captain Breaker, the commander of the steamer."
"And this," added Captain Breaker, pointing at the owner, "is Captain Passford, who is the fortunate owner of this vessel, though she is soon to pass into other hands."
"Captain Passford!" exclaimed Percy, bowing to both gentlemen as he was presented to them. "That is a familiar name to me; and upon my word, I thought it was Colonel Passford of Glenfield when I first looked at him."
"He is my brother; but I never heard him called 'colonel' before," added the owner, laughing at the odd-sounding title, as it was to him.
"Colonel Homer Passford is the name by which he is often called near his residence," Percy explained. "He is the nearest neighbor of my father, Colonel Richard Pierson."
"Indeed! then you probably know my brother,"said Captain Passford, interested in spite of himself.
"As well as I know any gentleman in the State of Alabama," replied Percy. "By the great palmetto! you are Colonel Passford's brother; and I think you must know Miss Florence Passford, who has been staying all winter with her uncle."
"She is my daughter," replied the owner with some emotion, which he could not wholly conceal when he thought of his mission in the South.
"I have met her several times, though not often, for I have been away from home at school. But my brother, Major Lindley Pierson, I learn from my letters, is a frequent visitor at your brother's house: and they even say"—
But Percy did not repeat what they said, though he had gone far enough to give the father of Florry something like a shock.
"What were you about to say, Mr. Percy?" he asked.
"I think I had better not say it, for it may have been a mere idle rumor," answered Percy, who was now beginning to disclose some of his better traits of character.
"Does it relate to my daughter, sir?" asked the captain rather sternly; for, in the present condition of the country, he was more than ordinarily anxious about his daughter.
"I ought not to have said any thing, sir; but what I was about to say, but did not say, does relate to Miss Florence," replied Percy, not a little embarrassed by the situation. "But I assure you, sir, that it was nothing that reflects in the slightest degree upon her. As I have said so much, I may as well say the rest of it, or you will think more than was intended was meant."
"That is the proper view to take of it, Mr. Percy."
"It was simply said that my brother Lindley was strongly attracted to your brother's house by the presence of your daughter. That is all."
But the fond father was very anxious. Of course the major was a Confederate.